At 8 months baby Hope weighed a mere 6 pounds. She was literally wasting away. Can you even imagine what it would be like to hold a child so emaciated?

Hope’s mother, Loviance, was making plans to take baby Hope to her home village to die.

And then Loviance brought her child to a medical clinic.

What? Loviance hadn’t even brought her child to the doctor yet?

This story takes place in a remote part of Kenya, where the roads are unpaved and dusty. Loviance doesn’t have a car, and she lives miles from the nearest medical clinic. She lives in a community where people are just starting to trust western doctors. When your child is running a fever you don’t just pick up the phone and call the advice nurse. You go to a doctor as an act of desperation, a last resort.

Hope was diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB), an infectious respiratory disease that attacks the lungs. TB is practically a part of history in the United States yet still prevalent in Africa, especially in Kenya’s Nyanza Province where Loviance lives. In fact, there are about 200 TB deaths per hour around the world, and most of these occur in the poorest of the poor.

Loviance was assigned to a volunteer community health worker who was part of a U.S. Centers for Disease Control program to reduce TB-related deaths. The volunteer visited the family every single day to make sure Hope completed her six-month TB treatment.

The treatment for TB takes much longer than what’s required for other types of bacterial infections. You must take antibiotics for at least six to nine months and in poverty-stricken areas many patients don’t follow through with the treatment. They take the pills for a few weeks and quickly regain strengtt, and then quit the medication because they think they’re fully healed.

Perez is a community health worker who helps TB patients in Kenya's Nyanza Province.

I learned about all of this on my recent tour through Kenya with the One Campaign, an advocacy group committed to fighting poverty and preventable disease in Africa. Dr. Kevin Cain, who works for the CDC and helped implement the TB program, told me the story of baby Hope. “She had practically wasted away, but now she’s healthy and should live a long life,” Dr. Cain said.

This program that’s saving hundreds of lives costs little. The people doing the work are TB survivors and they’re not paid a dime. Most of the volunteers are seeing two TB patients at a time.

With Dr. Cain as our guide, we shadowed a volunteer named Perez (pictured left) on one of her home visits. Perez visited, Margaret (pictured above), a single mother of four, who couldn’t even get out of bed when Perez first visited many months ago. But Margaret quickly regained strength as Perez visited daily and made sure the medication was being taken. Perez also brought Margaret clean water so she could take her pill.

Margaret is now back at work washing the clothes of villagers and supporting her four kids. On the day we visited, she was smiling and laughing and greeting our group with hugs.

“I’m so happy to see someone who was in bed go back to work,” Perez said. “People in the village think that I have magical powers but I’m just making sure she takes her medication from the hospital.”

Margaret and baby Hope are living proof that U.S.-funded programs aimed at fighting disease in Africa are effectively saving lives. Please let our lawmakers knows that these efforts should continue to receive funding by becoming a member of the One Moms campaign.

Stay tuned for David Muir’s report from the ONE Kenya trip on ABC’s World News on August 4.

My baby turns eight months old tomorrow. She weighs 19lbs. The idea of that poor baby wastig away like that makes my heart hurt. And the poor mother, having the helplessly watch her baby suffer. I can’t even imagine. I have been following this story line here and through the various news broadcasts and the scope of the problem is enough to make you feel hopeless. Stories like this that highlight the successes bring home the idea that one person can make a huge difference.

Amy Graff

Jessica: Thanks so much for following the story, and I’m so glad that you’ve understood the point of this all. It really takes so little to help these people. By simply becoming a member of One you’re making a huge difference: http://www.one.org/us/actnow/moms/. And Pennie: Baby Hope is doing fine. Yes, she went through a really rough spot but she’s now healthy and happy.

Cate

Your story gave me goosebumps as I read it and put tears in my eyes. We will keep fighting the fight! Thanks for this.

http://blogs.babycenter.com/author/ksauerwe/ Kristina

This makes me sad. By comparison, both my kids were 9 pounds at birth and only got bigger. I’m glad ONE is helping babies like Hope. (I become a member thanks to you and the other bloggers on the trip).

CJ Treadwell

I have 2 beautiful healthy children, 9 year old Aerial and 16 year old Chase. I am a single Mother and may not be rich these days in money…but I am richer then ever in health, food , clothes and a roof over our head.
I want to help. Amy, how did you come to be able to go to Kenya?
What can I do besides ask and share on facebook? What are you doing there and how did you come to being able to give the gifts of hope, caring, compassion and so much love? Can I come to Kenya and help? It’s a stretch of a question and I will do whatever I can.
Thank you,
I have enclosed my email.Sunshinech03@hotmail.com
Very Sincerely,
CJ Treadwell

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